Quest for Lead-Free Perovskite-Based Solar Cells

Abstract

Today, the perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are showing excellent potentials in terms of simple processing, abundance of materials, and architectural integration, as well as very promising device’s power conversion efficiencies (PCEs), rocketed from 3.8% in 2009 to 23.3% in 2018. However, the toxic lead (Pb) element containing the chemical composition of typically used organic-inorganic halide perovskites hinders the practical applications of PSCs. This chapter starts with a general discussion on the perovskite crystal structure along with the serious efforts focused on Pb replacement in these devices. Section 2 will elaborate the fundamental features of tin (Sn)-based perovskites together with their performance in the PSCs. Other alternative elements, such as copper (Cu), germanium (Ge), bismuth (Bi), and antimony (Sb), will be discussed in Section 3. The end will summarize the challenges and opportunities based on the chapter contents